Conventionally, various types of game apparatuses and game programs have been developed for playing a golf game on a screen using a computer provided in a game apparatus or the like. In the golf game, the player operates a controller to select a club to be used, a power for hitting a ball (hereinafter, referred to as the “shot power”), a direction to which the ball is hit (hereinafter, referred to as the “shot direction”), a location of a point on a ball to be hit at which the club hits the ball (hereinafter, referred to as the “hit point location”), a location at which the club impacts the ball (hereinafter, referred to as the “impact location”), etc., and a shot is represented on the screen in accordance with the player's operation. In general, shot elements for representing a shot in the golf game are classified into two types, i.e., shot elements of a first type which are set before a shot operation is performed, and shot elements of a second type which are set by the shot operation. The term “shot operation” as described herein refers to the player's operation for hitting a ball. The first type includes the club to be used, the shot direction, and the hit point location. The player selectively sets the first type of shot element before the shot operation is performed, and the setting is determined as it is by starting the shot operation. The second type includes the shot power and the impact location, and is set in accordance with an operation timing at which the player conducts the shot operation. In shot processing, a ball trajectory is calculated based on the set shot elements, and a final ball reach location is determined. The term “shot processing” as described herein refers to processing performed as a result of the shot operation.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-52245, a golf game has been developed in which when the above-described shot elements are set before the shot operation is performed, an estimated ball reach range is obtained and displayed based on the setting of the shot elements. As a result of shot processing, the estimated ball reach range is represented by, for example, a circular region which includes an estimated ball landing point (a first point at which a ball contacts the ground after a shot), the range of the estimated ball landing point, and a run of the ball after landing (a path along which the ball runs after landing).
However, the above-described conventional technology has the following problems.                (1) In the case where there is an obstacle on a trajectory along which a ball to be hit is estimated to travel, when only the estimated ball reach range is displayed, the player cannot determine a possibility of the ball hitting the obstacle.        (2) In the case where the player hits a ball after adjusting a shot power (i.e., the player does not make a full shot using 100% power), no estimated ball reach range is displayed for the adjusted shot power, and therefore no estimated ball reach range desired by the player is known to him/her.        (3) A final ball trajectory and a ball landing point are changed in accordance with a random number value in order to add an additional game-like nature to the golf game, and therefore the ball trajectory and the ball landing point vary between shot operations even when the shot processing is repeatedly conducted with the same setting of shot elements. However, in the golf game disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-52245, only a simple estimated ball reach range is displayed. This results in the player not understanding why the ball failed to reach within the estimated ball reach range, leading to the player feeling dissatisfaction with a shot result.        